A Friend in Need
by svucraze
Summary: When Lizzie comes to them for help Elliot and Olivia do all they can to protect the life of Lizzie's best friend.
1. Suspicions

**Disclaimer: All characters are the property of Dick Wolf**

**Chapter 1: A Friend in Need**

It was a Monday morning in New York City and the city was bustling with pedestrians walking to work, horns blaring as traffic sat in a standstill, and school yards buzzing with students after the weekend. In the hallways of St. Bernard's High School Elizabeth Stabler could be found chasing after her best friend.

"Jessica! Jess, Jessica! Hold up girl." she chuckled as she grabbed her friends elbow and turned her to face her. "Jeez, you would think that you're deaf with how many times I called your name. Where were you this weekend? I thought we were going to hang out on Saturday!"

"Oh yeah sorry about that," Jessica murmured back softly. "Something came up that had me around the house all day. Sorry I didn't call you."

Noticing her friend's strange demeanor, Elizabeth started to get worried and responded, "It's ok I'll take a rain check, but is everything alright? You're acting a little strange."

"Yeah. Yeah, everything is fine." Jessica replied, and hastily trying to change the subject she asked, "So did you see Brian Trapiado this morning? He was out throwing the football around on the field and man was he smokin'."

Knowing that it was best not to push her, Elizabeth just prayed that Jessica would come to her when she was ready to talk. So instead she allowed the change of subject. "Yeah I saw him, but it's just really weird to think of him as 'smokin' ' since he is one of Dickie's best friends therefore kinda making him like a brother to me." The girls then proceeded to chat about every boy in their grade that was relatively good looking. It wasn't until about fifteen minutes later, when Jessica absent mindedly scratched at an itch on her arm that Elizabeth glanced down and noticed her friend's bruised and bloody wrists.

"Oh my god Jessica, what in the hell happened?" Elizabeth demanded grabbing her friend's wrist and turning it towards her to get a better look. "Who did this to you?"

"No one!" Jessica cried, a little too quickly, causing Elizabeth to shoot her a look telling her she knew someone was hurting her. "Look it's nothing all right? Just forget about it."

"No Jessica I'm not going to forget about it. Someone is hurting you! You're wrists are bloody and raw. And you can't say _this_," Elizabeth quickly pushed up Jessica's sleeves revealing the bruises she had noticed over the past couple weeks, "is nothing! You need help." With that she dropped Jessica's arm and quickly grasped her elbow and tried leading her to the school entrance.

"Lizzie where are we going?" Jessica asked frantically.

"To get you some help." Elizabeth stated simply.

"Lizzie no, please forget you saw anything. I'm fine ok? Now you should go or you'll be late for your first class." And with that Jessica spun on her heel and hurried off to her class.

Elizabeth stared after her friend and realized there was only one thing she could do to help her friend. And that was to go to her father.

**A/N: So I already have this entire story planned out, I just have to find time to write. But I really hope to have the next chapter up either tonight or tomorrow.**

**I LOVE LOVE LOVE reviews!! **


	2. Daddy, I need your help

**Disclaimer: all characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC**

**Chapter 2- "Daddy, I need your help."**

Across town, in the 16th precinct's Special Victims Unit squad room, things were unusually quiet for a Monday morning. There were no phones ringing or sounds of papers shuffling as the detectives worked to solve a new case. It seemed like the creeps and sickos of New York City had unanimously decided to take the weekend off and give the SVU detectives a break.

The detectives were enjoying their rare break. Munch could be found idling by the coffee pot rambling on about his newest conspiracy to Fin, while Elliot and Olivia were lounging back at their desks and Elliot was sharing a story about his childhood with his best friend and partner.

"When I was about six years old, my sister got this little kitten for her birthday and was all bound and determined to spoil it like crazy, so I decided to help her by making the cat it's only little home… in a Tupperware bin" he chuckled. "So I layered the bottom of the bin with blankets, collected the cat and tried to get in acquainted with its new bed. Well I guess the cat was claustrophobic because it sure as hell didn't want to go into the bin. The more I tried to put it in the more it fought, until it had enough, spun around, and dug its claw straight into my neck. Let's just say that cat and I were very friendly to each other after that." He finished his story and glanced at Olivia expecting to see a look of amusement on her face but was instead met with a look of worry. "Liv, what is it?"

"Turn around Elliot."

"Why? What's going on?" But when he did as he was told, he knew what the matter was. There stood his youngest daughter, who was staring right back at him, and it looked as though she had been crying. "Lizzie, what's the matter, honey? Why are you here and not at school?"

"Daddy, I need your help." She answered timidly then quickly walked over and engulfed her father in a hug.

"Of course sweetheart, of course." He whispered as he wrapped his arms around her and swayed with her slowly. After a few moments he maneuvered her over to his desk chair and gently nudged her so that she would sit down. "Take some deep breaths, and then tell me what the matter is baby girl."

Elizabeth nodded to him then quickly glanced over the desk at her father's partner and addressed her. "Olivia, could you come over here too please? What I have to say, I think you both should know."

Stealing a furtive glance at Elliot, Olivia quickly got up and made her way around the desks and squatted down in front of Elizabeth so she could listen to what the teenager had to tell them.

Stealing another quick glance between the two adults in front of her, Elizabeth took a shaky breath and began to tell them what she had seen. "This morning when I got to school, I went to meet up with my friend Jessica. We were supposed to hang out on Saturday, but she never showed. When I asked her about it, she said something had come up at home and couldn't get away. But it's not like her to make plans then not show and not even call! If she has to bail out on someone she always calls and apologizes! Anyways when I brought it up she seemed really distant and then changed the topic really fast. I let her get away with it but then about fifteen minutes I glanced down and part of her wrists were showing and they were all raw and bloody like she'd been restrained. When I asked her about it she said it was nothing but then I asked her about all the bruises I've noticed over the past couple weeks. She got really agitated and told me to forget about it and then turned and ran off to class. I know I should've gone to class too but I'm really worried and I knew I had to tell you guys this!" she finished breathless and looked back up at the adults who were gazing back at her wide eyed.

"Lizzie," Elliot sighed peering down at his daughter, "what do _you _think is going on?"

"Honestly dad, I think she's being abused at home; mostly by her dad if not both parents."

"Why do you say that Liz?" Olivia questioned.

"Well her dad, he's never seemed quite right. He's always been quick to fly off the handle. When he's mad, he throws dishes. He's always yelling and cursing at Jess when he's pissed. And her mom, she's no saint either, she's always drinking and going on about some hardship in her life. If anything ever goes wrong it somehow happens to be Jessica's fault. So in some way, I guess they're verbally abusive. But I've never thought it had gone beyond that or I would've come to you sooner, I swear!"

"It's ok Lizzie, you're here now, and that's all that matters."Olivia comforted her and patted her knee softly. "Now I need you to tell me Jessica's last name so I can open a file so we can investigate."

"Sure." Lizzie responded. "It's Higgins"

"Wait a minute," Elliot cried out, staring down at his daughter, "Higgins? As in Jessica Higgins? The girl I've known since you two were in preschool together?? I know her parents, they seem great!"

"Daddy, when they're in public they _are_ great. They act like the perfect little family and all but it's really just a big façade."

"Okay then," Elliot answered, "to work this case I'm going to want to talk to her; see what I can get her to tell me."

"Dad she's never going to come right out and tell you. Believe me, if she's not going to come right out with it to me, her best friend, she is not going to do it with you either."

"Alrighty, how about this. You head back to school now, and when you get a chance, you talk to her and invite her over for dinner at my place tonight. That why I can get a read on her but not make it obvious. I won't actually confront her about the abuse until I'm sure she will open up to me. Sound like a plan?"

"Sounds great dad, thank you so much." Lizzie said as she stood up and wrapped her arms around her father's neck.

"You never have to thank me for this honey. Now get to school before you miss any more class."

Lizzie pulled away, nodded and smiled to Olivia, then turned and walked out the door to head back to school. Elliot watched his daughter until she was out of sight then turned to Olivia. "So Liv, you up for dinner tonight?"

**Next chapter: Dinner at Elliot's house. Will Jessica open up to the detectives?**

**Review please!!!**


	3. The Truth Comes Out

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long! I tried working on it whenever possible, but I had a lot of things comes up I had to take care of. Well, I hope you enjoy!**

**Two things:**

**1. I'm going to start referring to Lizzie as Lizzie and not Elizabeth. It's how they always refer to her on the show so it's just easier to know who I'm talking about.**

**2. In this story Elliot and Kathy are not together and he has his own house.**

**Disclaimer: All characters are the property of Dick Wolf**

**Chapter 3: The Truth Comes Out**

That evening Elliot could be found bustling around his kitchen, preparing dinner for him, Olivia, and the teens, or at least trying to.

"Dammit!" he yelled as he turned from the salad he was preparing to try and save the ground beef he was cooking on the stove, "I don't have time for this." Just as he was getting ready to toss everything and start on something new he heard a knock on his front door. Wondering who it could be, since he wasn't expecting anyone for another half hour, he walked to his front door and swung it open to reveal his partner. "Hey," he greeted her, "you're early."

Olivia stepped over the threshold and shut the door behind her before turning to her partner and answering, "Yeah, I decided to come over and help you with dinner. And," she quickly took in his disheveled appearance, "it looks like you just might need it." With a quick smirk she turned on her heel and walked into the kitchen.

Chuckling, Elliot followed. "Yeah I could use some help. I haven't had to cook in twenty years, so I guess you could say I've lost my touch. But Liv, I got a question. Do _**you **_know how to cook?"

Cocking an eyebrow, Olivia replied, "Yeah El, I know how to cook. Why wouldn't I?"

"Well whenever I come over you always have a fridge full of nothing but take-out boxes. I don't think I've ever seen you cook anything."

"El, I'm a single woman who lives alone and has the craziest work hours. I don't have time to cook otherwise I would. I love to cook. So what are you making?" She asked, turning to survey the war zone that was Elliot's counters.

"I was _attempting _to make spaghetti," he answered and gestured to the skillet he'd left on the stove, "but I kinda burnt the meat."

Olivia quickly strode over to glance at the damage, than looked back to Elliot with a grin. "I think burnt is an understatement." With that she began to bustle around the kitchen checking everything else Elliot had been making to see if they were still usable. After her survey was complete she turned back to Elliot and stated, "Well everything else looks good. We can still use them. Do you have any fresh chicken breasts?"

"Uh yeah, in the freezer." Elliot answered snapping out of the haze he'd wandered into. It was weird for him to see his partner in a kitchen getting ready to cook, but at the same time it was kind of mesmerizing. At work she was Badass Benson. There she chased down suspects on the street, cornered them in interrogation, intimidated them until she got the confession she was looking for. There she was just one of the guys. This glimpse at her softer, more relaxed side was a rarity for Elliot and, quite frankly, he like it. "Whacha plan on making?"

"Chicken Parmesan. You already have the pasta and marinara sauce that I can use and the salad and garlic bread you have will go with it nicely."

"Ok, well how can I help?"

"I got this don't worry about. You go get cleaned up and relax a bit before the girls get here." And with that she shooed him out of the kitchen.

Half an hour later, showered and refreshed Elliot stepped out of his bedroom and was instantly greeted with a mouth watering scent. He made his way down the hall and was surprised when he passed the dining room and saw the table already set and ready for people to sit down and enjoy the freshly cooked meal that was being made in the other room. He continued on his journey and as he turned the corner into the kitchen he was greeted with a site that caught him completely off guard. Olivia had ear buds in, had her music turned up, and was dancing around the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner, completely oblivious to Elliot standing in the doorway.

Despite wanting to let Olivia let loose and dance to her heart's desire, Elliot knew that if she found him watching her, he could find himself in serious trouble. With that thought in mind, he stepped forward and gently placed his hand on her shoulder to inform her of his presence. Startled, Olivia dropped the mp3 player she had clutched in her hand and threw her hand over her heart in surprise as she spun to face Elliot.

"Elliot!" She cried, "You scared the shit out of me!" Suddenly suspicious she narrowed her eyes and glared at him, "How long have you been standing there?"

Chuckling, he responded, "About five seconds. Don't worry I didn't see you do any crazy dance move. But I must admit I can like seeing you let loose and relax a little. You don't do it nearly enough."

"I do too relax!" she replied hotly.

"Bull!" He argued, "But anyways we need to talk about how we're going about this situation tonight."

Not wanting to give up the previous conversation, but realizing it wouldn't be worth the argument, she allowed the shift in topics. "I agree. By the sound of it you've known her for a long time. What's she like?"

"She's quiet when you first meet her, but opens up as you get to know her more. She's a good kid; I don't think I've ever heard of an incident of her causing trouble. From what I've seen it takes her awhile to trust people but once someone earns that trust she's extremely loyal to the person. Also, she seems to stick to hanging with only girls and doesn't really associate herself with any guy. I've always wondered about that but I guess it makes sense now that we know what we know about her home life."

"What's she like with you?"

"She seems fine. I always thought she trusted me but I guess now, maybe not completely. I just don't see why she hasn't come to me with this before. I mean I'm a cop and she knows that and she still didn't tell me. And what's even worse is that I'm a Special Victims detective and I still had no idea about this." Elliot murmured, stricken with guilt.

"El, you know that it can be hard for an abuse victim to come forward and rat out their abuser especially if it's a parent," Olivia whispered, stepping forward and placing a comforting hand on his arm, "and you can't blame yourself for this. If you had any inclination as to what was going on inside that house you would've done something about it. Please don't beat yourself up. "

"Yeah." He let out a slow breath knowing despite what Olivia said, he'd always feel a little bit of blame for what had been happening to his daughter's best friend. "I think you're the one that should really push her for it though…" He was about to say something else then changed his mind and stopped talking.

That didn't stop Olivia from knowing what he was going to say though. Work with someone long enough and you can pretty much know what they're thinking without them having to say it. She knew that even though the words did not actually come out of his mouth, Elliot thought Olivia should be the one to push Jessica because she could better relate to her due to her own childhood, and she may even be able to get Jessica to open up to her if she divulged some of her own past with her mother. Olivia looked at Elliot and smiled letting him know she knew what he had been thinking. "Sounds good to me. When should the girls be getti…?"

At that exact moment the front door swung open, cutting Olivia off and announced the arrival of Lizzie with Jessica trailing behind her. "Hey Daddy! Hey Liv!" Lizzie called as she walked into the kitchen. After giving them both a quick hug Lizzie turned to Jessica, "Jessica, I'd like you to meet my dad's best friend Olivia Benson."

It had been decided earlier in the day that telling Jessica right off the bat that Olivia was also Elliot's partner would make her suspicious as to the real reason for the dinner so they decided to stick with only the best friend half of their "relationship".

"Nice to meet you Jessica." Olivia stated, stepping forward and offering the young girl her hand.

Taking her hand and shaking it Jessica whispered timidly, "Nice to meet you too Ms. Benson."

"Oh no formalities, just call me Olivia." Olivia insisted.

"Ok, Olivia." Jessica agreed and then turned to Elliot. "Evening Mr. Stabler."

"Jessica, you've known me since you were about five years old. Please call me Elliot."

Lizzie, who had stepped off to the side, quickly walked forward and exclaimed, "Ok, enough with who's calling who what. Let's eat, I'm starving!" with that she hooked her arm with Jessica's, spun her around, and led her to the dining room.

All through dinner the group made small talk about anything that came to mind. At the same time the detectives kept a watchful eye on Jessica and noticed small but telltale signs of abuse coming from her during the entire meal. She flinched when Elliot passed her the bread and his hand grazed hers, purposely avoiding the topic of her parents, and limited any movement that would lift her shirt sleeve and reveal to the adults the bruises on her arm. It wasn't until the meal was almost over, when Jessica turned her head to listen to something Lizzie was saying, that Olivia caught a break.

"Oh my gosh Jessica," she gasped, "what in the world happened to your face?" There, on the Jessica's left cheek, right above her jaw line, was a big black and blue bruise.

"What do you mean?" she asked jumping up from her chair. Hurrying to look in the mirror on the wall, she noticed the bruise her father had inflicted on her the night before and realized her makeup had smeared, revealing it to the other. Knowing that if she didn't get herself out of this situation there could be trouble, she tried to cover it with an excuse. "Oh, clumsy me, I wasn't look where I was going last night and walked right into my bedroom door."

"Yeah, you know, I totally buy that since so many doors are in the shape of a palm," Elliot remarked. "Who hit you?" he asked blatantly.

"No one! I was clumsy and wasn't looking where I was going!" Jessica cried.

Olivia slowly approached Jessica and turned the teenager to face her. "Jessica," she whispered looking the girl in the eye, "earlier when you first got here we didn't tell you the full truth as to how I know Elliot. Besides being his best friend I'm also his partner in the Special Victims Unit," she revealed. "We deal with abuse cases everyday so we know one when we see one. I need you to tell us who's hitting you. Is it a friend? A boyfriend? _A parent?_" She asked, putting emphasis on the last one.

"No. No none of those. I-I-I swear," Jessica replied huskily as she made her way back to her chair and sat down.

Knowing now was the best time to get Jessica to open up, Olivia strode over and squatted down in front of the distraught teen. "Jessica I need you to listen to me okay? Not many people know this but I was the product of a rape. My mother decided to keep me and raise me herself but over time the task seemed to be too much for her. So she turned to alcohol as a outlet. When that wasn't quite enough, she hit me. I dealt with that abuse for 18 years before I left home. I know what it can do to you. It breaks you down, makes you think you did something to deserve it, after a while you even get used to it and accept it, but Jessica I'm telling you, you don't have to. _No one_ deserves that. _No one_ deserves to be hit day in a day out. Just let us help you. We know it's your parents; you just need to tell us everything and we can lock them up and you'll be _safe. _I promise."

By now Jessica was crying freely. "You swear to me it'll all be okay?" she asked with tears streaming down her face.

"Yes Jessica, I swear to you everything will be okay."

"Alright," she whispered. Looking down at her intertwined fingers she told the detectives everything. "The drinking started about eight years ago when both my parents lost their jobs within weeks of each other. There was no paycheck coming in, no way to buy food to eat, and no way to pay the bills. What made it worse was that no one was hiring. My parents started hitting the bars and getting people to buy them drinks. They'd come home late every night and pass out in the living room, wake up the next day, change, and head right back out. About a month later they both found jobs but by then they had developed such a habit that the drinking continued." Pausing, she took a deep breath and then continued on. "They hitting started me about three years later when the hard liquor just didn't seem to do it for them anymore. They'd come home, throw back a few shots, than lay into me claiming everything that was wrong in their lives was my fault. As time went on they began to restrain me. At first they'd just lock me in a room all night, but then it progressed to being tied to a bed and not being given anything to eat for 2-3 days. The only relief I had was when I realized that they acted like their old selves when we had people over or we were out in public, so I tried to invite friends over as much as possible. But then they realized my plan and they began to ban certain people from coming over. Now only a few people are allowed to come by and it's gotten so bad that my parents sometimes even yell at me and call me names with my friends there. I just can't take it anymore!"

She began to sob and everybody else had tears rolling down their own faces. Lizzie got up from her chair and walked around the table and engulfed her friend in a hug. Olivia and Elliot both got up from their spots and retreated to the corner.

"Definitely enough for an arrest," Elliot whispered, "and I think Jessica should stay here with me in the guest room and Lizzie can stay with her.

"I agree," Olivia responded. "How about we head over to her house now and let Jessica grab her stuff and we can get a good look around. I'll also call Cabot and have her write up arrest warrants."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll tell the girls." Elliot turned around and walked back over to his daughter and Jessica leaving Olivia to call the ADA. "Hey ladies. So Olivia and I talked and we think if it's best if you guys stay here with me for a few days. Jessica, we're all going over to head over to your house now so you and Lizzie can get your stuff packed up and Olivia and I can get a look around. Sound good?"

"What if my parents come home?" Jessica asked quizzically.

"Well then Olivia and I will handle it. She's actually on the phone with our Assistant District Attorney right now getting arrest warrants for both your parents."

"Okay. And oh and Mr. Stabler, uh Elliot, thank you."

"Jessica, you never have to thank me for this," he said giving her a reassuring smile, "let's go."

**Next chapter: The four go to Jessica's house and receive a visit.**

**Review please!**


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